Warburton: "Brentford are not in the Championship to make up the numbers"

Mark Warburton insists Brentford are not simply in the Championship to make up the numbers.

A 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday rounded off the Bees’ pre-season campaign in style ahead of their Championship opener with Charlton Athletic this weekend.

Warburton was delighted with the performance against Premier League Eagles and believes his current crop can do more than merely survive in the league’s second tier.

“It’s a project here, the squad has a lot of quality and we’re making good progress,” he said.

“We’re looking to go as high as we can in this league.

“I don’t see how you can go into a dressing room full of players and say: ‘Let’s just survive’.

“There are lots of challenges ahead, and our job is to maximise the potential in that dressing room and see where it takes us.

“If it’s survival, so be it. If it’s challenging at the top, then great. It’s up to us to play the right way.”

New signings Andre Gray and Moses Odubajo got on the scoresheet against the Eagles, adding to Jonathan Douglas’ opener, and easing Bees fans’ goal concerns having lost last season’s top-scorers Clayton Donaldson and Marcello Trotta.

Warburton was thrilled with the new dimension his summer signings have given Brentford, and believes they will be vital to their league campaign.

“The new signings did really well today and are becoming part of the squad, adding value to what we already have,” he said.

“We have got some very good players here, both younger and the more senior.

“You can look all around the park at the quality we have and I’m very pleased with that.”

He added: “The Palace game was excellent. It was a strong performance against a high-quality team, so it should give us belief and confidence.

“There was lots of energy and quality from the new guys, and all round fitness levels were very good so I’m delighted with what was a very beneficial workout for us.”

Brentford finished second in League One last season to end a 21-year wait to return to the second tier, and Warburton has one thing on his mind as they welcome the Addicks to Griffin Park on Saturday.

He said: “We’re focusing on winning.

“If we play the game in the right way and show our energy, intensity and quality, I think we’ll be OK.”

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